


Feeling Good

by MelodyoftheVoid



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: 2 is a bitter bean, But he's ok, Consensual Mind Control, HOW IS THERE NO ZA2R HERE?, I know why you're here, Love Confessions, M/M, Mind Control, Zib is a disaster, but a sweetie, but with a twist, eventually, fun times, huehue, it's fine, listen, must i do everything myself?, you know why I'm here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:41:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27582862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodyoftheVoid/pseuds/MelodyoftheVoid
Summary: Zib doesn't know how he got so lucky.
Relationships: Zib | Zim Number 1/ Zim Number 2
Comments: 23
Kudos: 66





	Feeling Good

Dib was never a lucky person. 

His whole life he’d been the black cat, the bad omen. Shit luck just followed wherever he went. Not that Zim was really any better off. His earnest attempts ending in tragedy time and time again. Honestly the both of them were the most unlucky beings the universe had ever known. So one would expect that a combination of these two walking disasters would barely be able to walk two feet without failing catastrophically. 

Yet as Zib sat in his penthouse suite, swirling a glass and looking out on the neon landscape of the planet he’d revolutionized from the ground up, he couldn’t help but wonder how he’d gotten here. 

The series of events was a blur, even despite the PAK’s clear recollection, one moment he’d been alone in the void of his destroyed universe, spitting and cursing at his alternate self for teaming up with a filthy Zim- for ruining everything he’d built. Then the next moment the ground he stood upon shifted, and he was spat out onto some other planet. 

His current theory was that his home universe, the one he’d… destroyed, couldn’t sustain itself anymore, not with all the holes he’d punched through it to access the multiverse. 

But the how, the semantics, what did it really matter at this point? 

After losing literally everything, even the shattered remains of his former home, Zib had made a choice. He wasn’t Dib anymore, and he sure as shit wasn’t Zim. So now, with nothing left, no piece of who he was, he’d become his own person. He’d remake himself, reinvent, and so he did. 

With all the prowess and enthusiasm of his component parts, Zib raised the barren dustball into a utopia in the ensuing decade or so. A little paradise all his own. A glittering city of temptations that he ran, the citizens praising his name. A figure of renown. 

Yeah, Emblal was his new start… but still. Sometimes he kind of… missed the void. Not the robot suit obviously, that thing was awful. No, sometimes Zib missed… him. His second in command. 

Shaking his head, Zib sipped at the drink, some fruity drink that acted as close to alcohol as he’d been able to find. It helped to quiet the ever churning storm in his skull. Two minds were not really meant to occupy the same space for an extended period of time, and it got… loud up there. 

A lot. 

But the more personality he displayed, the more people flocked to visit, and the more he could improve, so he tried to quiet the noise only every once in a while. 

Before he could enjoy that solace though, the room went dark. No alarms sounded, but Zib let the PAK legs unfurl from behind him, lasers primed. 

Zib had done the wiring himself, he knew that it wouldn’t just go out on its own. Someone was in here with him. 

A flicker of movement caught his eye and he shot into the darkness, but it hit nothing. Only illuminating the apartment for a brief second. 

“Whoever you are- come out and we can settle this peacefully. I’d rather not get blood on the floors. It takes forever to clean and I prefer to not deal with that today.”

“Oh you’d like that wouldn’t you?”

Zib stopped at the voice. It was familiar… where had he heard it before…

A knee was in his back, his lapse in focus all the window his assailant needed. A purple cloak fluttered, and as Zib turned to face who’d managed to sneak up on him of all people. It was the last person he’d thought he’d see again, one he thought was destroyed in the merging of universes. 

“Two?!”

The former second sneered, eyes narrowed and antennae flat against his head.

“Yes. I’m surprised you still remember me One, or Dib. Or whatever you really are.”

“...I go by Zib now.”

Two rolled his eyes, “Oh I heard. But I just thought that might’ve been another made up name you gave yourself. Can never really tell with you.”

“That’s fair. But how’d you live? I thought that all of the Zims were destroyed when that idiot merged the timelines. Or whatever he did. It didn’t make any sense at the time and I’m still at a loss frankly.”

“If Zim could give you an answer, I would. But one moment I was taking control of the Massive, the next I was floating in the expanse. And it took years, but I finally found you.”

The wires that Zib helped Two install into his PAK all those years ago snaked out. 

  
  
  
  
  


“Tell me, did you think I’d let all the things you put me through go? How I worked, and worked, and worked to make myself perfect for the fake you? How you turned me against my tallest against my will?"

“I-”

The tendrils struck the ground, causing the tile to crack and raising the Irken above Zib. 

“No. No, it’s my turn to speak. I had to put up with enough of your monologues. I  _ destroyed _ myself to be like you, to be what you expected. All that praise and work for what? To be a tool in your scheme?”

Two paused, taking a calming breath. 

“But I will admit,  that virus of yours was rather handy. Ingenious really. I was able to rework it, improve on your design, it certainly got me out of a few scrapes in Irken territory that’s for certain,” Two smiled, slow and devious. A Zim’s smile. “The results truly speak for themselves, wouldn’t you agree?

There was a click from behind him and it all went… quiet. Zib, for the first time in stars knows how long, thought about… nothing. There were no schemes, no plans, no arguments. He almost felt like he was floating in a pleasant bath, no waters to navigate. 

All he needed, all that mattered, was his Tallest. His Two. 

He knelt, as was customary for a lesser Irken. As was his place. 

“Yes… my Tallest.”

His Two blinked, a look of surprise flashing across his pink eyes. Zib had forgotten how much brighter they were than the other Zims. He liked those eyes. 

"I’ll admit I thought you’d put up more of a fight than that. No matter. Show me this… world that you’ve made for yourself. Give me all it has to offer.”

Zib nodded, standing. 

“My Tallest, people will notice the wire. Is there somewhere private you would prefer?”

Fuschia bloomed across Two’s cheeks. It contrasted nicely with the purple of his cloak. His Tallest was lovely wasn’t he?

“Y-you mean for the attractions, yes? The. The shows here.”

“Of course. I have personal suites for all of them, we will never even have to deal with the crowds.”

“Good. Good yes. Show Zim these attractions of yours! The one with the flames first.”

Zib hummed, of course his Tallest would want to see that one. He’d always loved destruction, and the burns of the obstacle course rarely phased him. Whatever made Two happy, that was what mattered. 

Zib escorted Two towards his personal teleportation pad, something he’d rigged together with his accrued knowledge of Irken tech, warping the both of them right into the luxurious box. He smiled as his Tallest drooled over the various snacks in the cabinets, looking to him for approval before straightening and helping himself.

“Are they to your liking?”

“Wmhf,” Two swallowed down a donut, crumbs lining his mouth, “Yes. They are… satisfactory. It’s been a while since I got to enjoy any snacks. Or proper food.”

“Then help yourself my Tallest.” 

Two pursed his lips, scowling slightly before turning back to the rows of snacks, grabbing a large pile and motioning for Zib to take a seat next to him. 

The lights in the arena dimmed, a variety of aliens stepping forward, dangerous implements of various shapes and sizes in their hands. Spotlights dimmed, then flared to life along with the torches. 

Zib’s stomach rumbled at the scent of the snacks next to him, reminding him that he hadn't’ eaten in far too long. But he couldn’t take from his Tallest. 

“You can take a few. Zim will allow it.”

Zib smiled, grateful that his Two was so generous to him.

“Thank you.”

The Vortian juggled the flaming torches, using their horns and hooves to kick the poles into the air, sending them flying before catching it again. Zib had never particularly cared to come to acts like this previously, preferring to interact with the patrons and business owners than indulge in the luxuries publicly. 

He watched, but he couldn’t help but drift his attention to Two, whose gaze similarly flicked between him and the show. He fidgeted constantly, agitated by… something. 

“Is something the matter my Tallest?” 

The Irken turned to his entranced captive, anger and confusion fighting for control. 

“Why.”

Zib turned to Two, “Why what my Tallest?”

Two wrung his hands, “Why did you choose Zim to be number two? Was Zim just that naive? Was I the easiest to use?”

Zib paused. 

“I think, my Tallest, you really were the best of all the Zims. I no longer had mine, and you were simply. The best. You helped me accomplish so much that I relied on you.”

Two moved something in his PAK, but Zib paid it no mind, not registering the wire retracting back. He only cared about telling his Tallest the truth, and the small shaky smile forming his face. 

“Go on.”

“I had, I had wanted to let you in on the plan. I know at some point I did, but I was so focused on revenge, on being a hero, that I ignored all you did for me. How you made me… happy. When you praised me, it was what I needed, but I failed to see it at the time.”

The world came into clearer focus, yet he couldn’t stop speaking. The sensation of floating lessened. 

“Your records on the course, they were so close to mine, I genuinely thought at times you’d overtake me. When everything vanished, I was left… alone, I could see then, what I’d really lost. Not a day went by where I didn’t I that I’d been able to say-”

“Say what?”

Zib reached forward only to stop. Two was right there, in his face. His train of thought came to a screeching halt. What had he been saying? He looked down at his hands, then back up at Two. At the lack of a wire sticking out. At the fact that he’d been speaking of his own accord for the past few minutes. Well. No backing out now. 

“Say that I needed you. That you completed me. That we were an amazing team.”

“Oh.”

The two stood in silence for a painful eternity. Neither really knowing how to proceed. 

“You… you mean that?”

It was Zib’s turn to flush, face heated, “I do. I’ve had a lot of time to think about it and yeah. You were half the reason anything got done honestly. I,” he turned away, “I could find a place for you here, if you’d like. This universe’s Dib and Zim don’t bother with this planet, we talked it out a while back, so you wouldn’t have to worry about them.”

“Hmm, your security was rather lacking. We could definitely make some improvements. And this place suits me. I’ll stay for sure. I er- I apologize for using the virus on you, it was a good idea at the time. It won’t happen again.”

The phantom sensation of that pleasant emptiness swept over Zib. 

“...I wouldn’t mind you using the virus again. It was nice to not think for a while.”

Two smiled up at him, the wire snaking out once more from his PAK.

“Well, who am I to say no?”

Zib had no idea how he got to where he was, that much was true.

But gods if he didn’t feel like the luckiest person alive. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This was fun. Inspo from [https://melodyofthevoid.tumblr.com/post/631084110987870208/its-been-a-while-one-tell-me-did-you-think-id](this) and [https://shandzii.tumblr.com/post/630981530826719232/uno-reverse-card-go-brrrrr](this) I will not apologize. It's just fun man. I'm not apologizing for shit.


End file.
